Brief History of the Gotei 13
Age of Masaru '1500 years before the Mask War ' The Age of Masaru was a golden age for Soul Society under the legendary Soutaichou Masaru. During this era, the hollows were kept at bay, there was peace between Shinigami and Vizard and Quincy activity was kept to a minimum. The great balance of souls was maintained and life after death was prosperous and good. Like all good things, it could not last. Age of Turmoil '500 years before the Mask War ' Ten Vastro Lordes, led by the dread hollow Emptybones, utilized a leak in shinigami and vizard research to unlock the technology necessary to make the jump into Arrancar. The new Espada under Emptybones began to militarize Hueco Mundo and tear open the fabric between their dimension and Soul Society. A series of bloody wars followed with each war ending in a victory for the Gotei under the legendary Masaru, but each victory had a casualties. Captains came and went in the Gotei, and with each death, the resolve to fight began to dim among the shinigami Finally, in one last brutal assault, the shinigami decided to fight the Espada on their own terms and beat the Hollows back into their own gates, fighting the hordes all the way into Hueco Mundo and storming Emptybones’ fortress. The resulting battle led to the death of Emptybones and the majority of the Espada as well as a great percentage of the hollow armies. There was no celebration. Hueco Mundo was shattered, but Masaru and most of his legendary captains were dead. The Mask War 'Year 0 ' On the week after the death of the Soutaichou, a new Commander of the Gotei had to be chosen. The Central 46, eager to control the Gotei in the new era of peace to prevent it from turning on the people it had been created to protect, set up a figurehead by appointing Masaru’s Vice-Captain as Soutaichou. The Vice-Captain, while wise, was not Masaru’s peer in combat. His appointment caused outrage among the Captains, foremost among those was Gabriel Faust XIII, who declared the move an act of tyranny by the Central 46 to take over every branch of the Soul Society government. Dissent became outright rebellion as 5 of the captains of the Gotei and their divisions took up arms against their comrades to fight against what they believed to be the insane actions of the Central 46. Seisatsu Kuragari, one of the fabled Captains of the Gotei 13 under Masaru came out of retirement to defend the Central 46. The resulting clash between the rebellion under Gabriel Faust and the loyalists commanded in the name of Masaru’s Vice-Captain (whose name has been stricken from history) under Seisatsu Kuragari left the Gotei in disarray. While neither side wished to shed the other’s blood, soon enough grudges were formed, culminating in the Battle of Succession in which Kuragari and Faust crossed swords upon the steps of the Central 46 themselves as the Soutaichou watched. Faust was able to force Kuragari to retreat, but not before learning that Kuragari was a Vizard as was the new Soutaichou. The entire war had been “masterminded” by the Vizards to take control of the Gotei 13. Faust struck down the Soutaichou in a single blow and threw his masked form into the chambers of the Central 46 accusing them of consorting with spies and traitors to bring down the 13 Protection Squads. The Central 46, appalled, turned on one another declaring each other Vizard sympathizers. As the truth about Kuragari and the Soutaichou spread throughout the Gotei, rebel and loyalist alike dropped their weapons. Over the course of one battle, the back of the Gotei 13 had been broken, and the uneasy understanding between shinigami and vizard dissolved forever. The Vizards that remained fled through the senkaimon gates of Seireitei to the world of the living and disappeared for decades. The Calm 'Year 1 ' The Central 46 declared Faust a hero for finding the Vizard conspiracy and allowed him to take the position of Soutaichou. Thus, a mournful peace, brought about by the blood of shinigami began. Scattered battles created by pockets of rebels were not uncommon in the era, but with the death of Masaru and the betrayal of one of his most respected Captains made the people as a whole sick of battle in general. 500 years passed and a new generation of Shinigami under the command of Gabriel Faust have risen through the ranks as an ancient threat rises anew…… Day of Sorrows 'Year 500 ' Four Vastro Lordes of unknown strength and origin appeared in the highly populated areas of Tokyo, L.A., Paris and Taipei and began to feed. Before an appropriate strike force could be mobilized to stop them, thousands of lives were lost. The exception being the Tokyo hollow which, when it attempted to feed on the Land Rich in Soul was engaged by the infamous vizard overseer Seisatsu Kuragari in plain view. Both Kuragari and the Vastro Lorde seemed to have disappeared in the heat of their battle. Just as quickly as they appeared, the hollows returned to Hueco Mundo. The forces of the Hollows seem to not be nearly as broken as they were thought to be. SQN Liberation 'Year 501 ' A sizable squad of SQN, using Central 46 access codes to pass through the four gates undetected. They made their way to the high-level holding areas and staged a jailbreak of Seireitei’s most notorious criminals, many of which were high-ranking officers in the SQN. The ensuing chaos was exacerbated by the lethargic response by the Gotei, who was ill-prepared for a direct attack after 500 years of peace. Commander Faust in particular seemed slow in mobilizing the divisions to the defense of Seireitei. Because of this, the SQN were able to make a retreat to the 4th division with minimal losses and reactivate the previously inactive senkaimon with another high level access code, retreating to the living world while their lieutenants engaged Captains Faust and Simeon. The majority of the escaping prisoners were either killed in the riots or recaptured, but a few high-profile inmates made their way through the gate guards and into greater Soul Society. Category:Shinigami Category:History